Disconnectable metal upright secured to a pedestal



Aug- 19,- 1969 R. DEMANEGA 'DISCONNECTABLE METAL UPRIGHT SECURE-l) TO A PEDESTAL 5 heets-She 1 Filed Nov. '7,

INVENTOR I I III I I I I I I II I 00 DOLPHE DE MANE 6A ATTORNEY Aug. 19, 1969 R, DEMANEGA 3,462,126

DISCONNECTABLE METAL UPRIGHT SECURED To A PEDESTAL s Sheets-Sheet s Filed Nov.

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DISCONNECTABLE METAL UPRIGHT SECURED TO A PEDESTAL Filed Ndv. 7, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEY R. D EMANEGA 3,462,126

DISCONNFICTABLE METAL UPRIGHT SECURED TO A PEDESTAL Aug. 19; 1969 5 Shets-She'et 5 Filed Nov. 1 967- INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,462,126 DISCONNECTABLE METAL UPRIGHT SECURED TO A PEDESTAL Rodolphe Demanega, Sion, Valais, Switzerland, assignor to Marie-Josephe Demanega, Valais, Switzerland Filed Nov. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 681,132 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Nov. 25, 1966, 8,294/ 66 Int. Cl. E04c 3/32 US. Cl. 256-65 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An upright supporting railings, road signals or the like comprising a vertical tube engaging its pedestal through a bayonet coupling and provided with means'for locking the tube against rotation and comprising for instance, ports formed in the side-wall of the tube and engaged by railing members. In this case, the removal of the railing members by unauthorized persons is prevented by rods extending vertically through the inner ends of such railing members inside the vertical tube, which rods can be removed only through the upper end of the upright tube which is normally closed by an axial rod which can be released through its lower end registering with a port in the side-wall of the upright tube. In a modification, the vertical tube is held against rotation by engagement be tween 2. vertical diametrical projection on an element vertically shiftable inside the tube and dropping for the angular position corresponding to engagement of the bayonet coupling into a corresponding recess of the pedestal.

It has already been proposed in the art to provide disconnectable metal uprights secured to a pedestal which is generally anchored in the ground. Said uprights may for instance form supports for a railing or posts carrying road signals and the like.

When the uprights are designed so as to allow their removal from their pedestals, they are generally secured to the latter by means of screws or bolts, so that their dismantling is a comparatively time consuming matter.

My invention has for its object to provide a very speedy erection and dismantling of the uprights with reference to their pedestals, while preventing removal of the uprights off their pedestals by unauthorized persons.

Briefly, my invention comprises an upright including a metal tube and a pedestal in which the metal tube is A mounted. The metal tube is provided at its lower end with one part of a bayonet coupling the other part of which is rigid with the pedestal, and is also provided with at least one part of a locking means adapted to prevent any rotation of the tube out of the position in which it is held fast by the bayonet coupling.

The accompanying drawings illustrate diagrammatically and by way of example two preferred embodiments of my invention. In said drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an upright tube fitted in its pedestal and carrying a railing.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the upright.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section along line IIIIII of a modification of the tube illustrated in FIG. 1 as adapted for the case where the upright is located at a corner of a railing.

FIG. 4 illustrates on a larger scale and in longitudinal cross-sectional view the upper part of the upright shown in FIG. 1, the section line being drawn at =IVIV in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pedestal carrying the upright tube.

FIG. 6 is atop plan view of said pedestal.

3,462,126 Patented Aug. 19, 1969 "ice FIGS. 7 and 8 are respectively a vertical cross-section and a partial vertical cross-section through line VIII VIII of FIG. 7 of a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a partial axial cross-section through line IX-- IX of FIG. 7.

The upright illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a tube 2 engaging a hollow pedestal 1 fitted in the ground. Said tube 2 is adapted to carry horizontal members 3 forming a railing.

These horizontal members 3 comprise tubes the diameter of which is smaller than that of the tube 2, said members engaging the latter through ports 2a formed in a corresponding cross-sectional area of the tube 2. The ends of the tubes 3 entering the tube 2 are provided with vertically alined ports 3a through which locking rods 5 extending inside the tube 2 are adapted to pass so as to prevent, when engaging said ports, any removal of the railing tubes 3 outwardly through the ports 2a in the tube 2. These rods 5 are provided with a bent upper end so as to allow an operator to remove them speedily through the upper opening 2b of the tube 2. When the rods 5 have been operatively positioned, the opening 2b is closed by a rod 4, of which the head 4a is held by a flange surrounding said opening 2b.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the tube 2 is furthermore provided with a lateral port 2c registering horizontally with the lower end of the rod 4 when the latter assumes the position illustrated in FIG. 4. It is thus possible to introduce a tool or a rod through said port 20 so as to exert a thrust on the lower end of the rod 4 and to raise the latter by a vertical distance which is sufficient for it to be possible to take hold of its upper end projecting above the upper opening 212 and to remove said rod 4 when the railing is to be dismantled after removal of the rods 5.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the pedestal 1 carrying the tube 2. Said pedestal comprises a metal cylinder of which the inner surface is engaged by two vertically spaced rings 7 and 8 the inner diameter of which is just larger than the outer diameter of the tube 2. The ring 7 is provided with two notches 7a forming part of a bayonet coupling the other part of which is constituted by a bar 9 secured diametrically across the inside of the tube 2 and slightly such that when the horizontal railing members comprising the tubes 3 are fitted in the ports 2a, the bar 9 assumes the position illustrated in FIG. 6 in which the tube 2 cannot be removed. Thus, said tube 2 cannot be removed as long as said tubes 3 have not been previously removed.

It should also be noted that the tube 2 is provided at its lower end, at a few centimeters above the pedestal 1,

with a weakened section 6 adapted to ensure the breaking of the tube in registry with said section of the tube if the latter is subjected to a strong impact. In the case where the tubes 2 are steel tubes of a diameter of 60 millimeters,

the weakened section may be constituted by a peripheral groove which is 1.25 mm. deep. In such a case, it has been found that a stress of 390 kg. exerted horizontally on the part of the tube at one meter above ground level is required for breaking the upright.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 9, the upright is provided at its lower end with a complete arrangement for locking it against rotation. This embodiment is intended chiefly for situations where the upright serves for carrying road or the like signalling means, or

else forms part of a gate made up of a series of such uprights interconnected merely by a chain.

In said embodiment, the lower end 1 of the tube 2 encloses an axially movable cylindrical element 10 carrying at its lower end a transversely extending blade 11 adapted to engage the notches 12a fromed in an upstanding cylindrical member 12 rigid with the plate 13 carrying the pedestal 1.

Said cylindrical element 10 revolves in unison with the tube 2 as provided by the two longitudinal slots 10a formed in said element 10 and engaging the transverse bar 9 rigid with the tube 2 (FIG. 8).

Upon introduction of the tube 2 inside the pedestal 1, the ends of the bar 9 pass through the notches 7a in the ring 7 similar to that described with reference to FIGS. and 6, while the blade 11 carried at the lower end of the downwardly moving element 10 abuts against the upper edge of the cylindrical member 12. The cylindrical element 10 is thus held against further downward movement and is disposed within the tube 2, while the latter is positioned within the pedestal 1. The tube 2 is then rotated around its axis so as to angularly shift the ends of the transverse bar 9 with reference to the notches 7a. The transverse blade 11 is brought into registry with the notches 12a and drops inside the latter, so that the cylindrical element 10 moves downwardly under the action of gravity together with its blade 11.

When it is desired to remove the tube 2, it is first necessary to eliminate its being locked against rotation by the cylindrical element 10, the blade 11 and the cylindrical member 12. The unlocking may be readily obtained by introducing a rod through a lateral port 2d formed at the lower end of the tube 2 just above the pedestal. The end of said rod is caused to engage a cooperating port 10b in the cylindrical element 10, so as to allow the latter to be raised and to release the transverse blade 11 carried by it with reference to the notches 12a.

The uprights described are highly advantageous for carrying railings extending along a curb and also roadsignalling means which, as well-known, are frequently damaged by vehicles in the case of a mishap on the road or of a drivers carelessness. Whenever one or more uprights are broken, they may be readily removed from their pedestals. As a matter of fact, by reason of the presence of the weakened area 6, the section of the upright fitted inside the pedestal is not usually damaged. The pedestal is protected against damage and consequently the broken upright may be readily replaced by a spare upright without it being necessary to resort to any skilled workmanship as is presently the case when the pedestal itself has been damgaged. It is therefore necessary to remove the pedestal from the road surface and to destroy the concrete surrounding it before installing a new pedestal to be anchored in the ground in the same manner.

I claim:

1. An upright for supporting railings, road signals and the like comprising a hollow pedestal, a vertical carrier tube removably fitted in said pedestal, a bayonet coupling including parts rigid respectively with said pedestal and carrier tube and adapted to retain them in a predetermined relative angular position, locking means adapted to prevent said tube from rotating out of said angular position with reference to said pedestal, said tube being open at its upper end and provided in its side wall with ports at different levels, said locking means including horizontal railing members extending into the tube through corresponding ports and provided with vertically registering ports lying within said tube, vertical rods extending through last-mentioned ports and removable through the upper opening of the tube and an axial rod including a head closing said upper opening and extending downwardly into registry with one of said ports in the tube at a lower level to permit raising said rod into an openingreleasing position .by an operation executed through said lower port.

2. An upright as claimed in claim 1, wherein the car rier tube includes a weakened area at a level lying slightly above the pedestal when the tube is fitted in the latter.

3. An upright for supporting railings, road signals and the like comprising a hollow pedestal, a vertical carrier tube removably fitted in said pedestal, a bayonet coupling including parts rigid respectively with said pedestal and carrier tube and adapted to retain them in a predetermined relative angular position, locking means adapted to prevent said tube from rotating out of said angular position with reference to said pedestal, a member rigid with th pedestal and an element adapted to slide vertically inside the lower end of the carrier tube and including a downwardly directed projection out of vertical registery with the part of the bayonet coupling carried by the tube and adapted to drop into a position engaging said pedestal member for said angular position of the tube With reference to the pedestal.

4. An upright for supporting railings, road signals and the like comprising a hollow pedestal, a vertical carrier tube removably fitted in said pedestal, a bayonet coupling including parts rigid respectively with said pedestal and carrier tube and adapted to retain them in a predetermined relative angular position, locking means adapted to prevent said tube from rotating out of said angular position with reference to said pedestal, a member rigid with the pedestal and an element adapted to slide verticalluy inside the lower end of the carrier tube and including a downwardly directed projection out of vertical registry with the part of the bayonet coupling carried by the tube and adapted to dro into a position engaging said pedestal member for said angular position of the tube with reference to the pedestal, the carrier tube being provided with a lateral port in horizontal registry with the upper section of said element and through which the latter can be raised above said position it has dropped into.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,799,314 4/1931 Pfatf 52298 3,124,385 3/1964 Neptune 52-704 X 3,225,501 12/1965 McCaron 52-298 3,349,531 10/1967 Watson 52-296 3,351,332 11/1967 Mueller 25613.1

FOREIGN PATENTS 143,538 11/1935 Austria. 443,980 3/1936 Great Britain.

60,284 2/ 1926 Sweden.

DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 52-298 

